National president of the Indian Youth Congress Srinivas BV on April 15 tweeted a video of Bhojpuri actor and BJP’s Azamgarh MP Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known as Nirahua, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath did their bit to curb unemployment by not giving birth to children. Yadav can be heard further saying that the ones responsible for unemployment in the country are the ones who have multiple children.
क्या सच में मोदी-योगी ने
इसलिए बच्चे पैदा नही किये?
😂😂pic.twitter.com/5oSPa15yv4— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) April 15, 2024
Responding to Srinivas BV’s tweet, Nirahua claimed that the video was ‘fake’. “Anyone who sees it will understand that the lips are saying something else. What do you want to prove by cloning the sound with AI?”, asked Nirahua.
फेक वीडियो प्रमोट करने का ट्रेंड हो गया है @INCIndia वालों का, कोई भी देखकर समझ जाएगा कि ओंठ कुछ और बोल रहा है। AI से साउंड क्लोन करके क्या साबित करना चाहते हैं @srinivasiyc . @ECISVEEP कृपया संज्ञान लें। https://t.co/VdnjaQ1UXN
— Nirahua Hindustani (modi ka parivar) (@nirahua1) April 15, 2024
Soon, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya took to X (Twitter) to make a similar claim in response to Srinivas BV’s tweet. Malviya stated that Congress was using deepfakes to mislead people and the BJP MP from Azamgarh was filing an FIR against the IYC president and taking up the matter with the Election Commission of India.
This video is fake. The Congress, like in MP, is using deepfakes to mislead people, create unrest and sow divisions in the society. Dinesh Lal Yadav, BJP MP from Azamgarh, is filing FIR against IYC President, who is a habitual offender. Complaint also being filed with @ECISVEEP.… https://t.co/MMrvXSw5mc
— Amit Malviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@amitmalviya) April 15, 2024
National secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Tajinder Bagga tweeted the video and urged the Uttar Pradesh police to take action against the Congress leader who shared the ‘fake video’ of BJP MP Dinesh Lal Yadav.
. @Uppolice Congress leader shared fake video of BJP MP Dinesh lal Yadav. pls take action https://t.co/zIx1Ij3MRY
— Tajinder Bagga (Modi Ka Parivar) (@TajinderBagga) April 15, 2024
Several other X users amplified the claim that the video was fake.
The Video is Not a Deepfake
While a discernible lag between the audio and the video can be noticed in the viral videos, the full-length interview of Dinesh Lal Yadav is available on the YouTube channel Soul Up Hindi. The video is approximately 12 minutes long. The viral part comes at the 11:27-minute mark. Here, Dinesh Lal Yadav can be heard and seen saying whatever Srinivas BV alleged he had said.
His statements can be translated as: “Does Modiji have a child? Tell me. Does Yogiji have a single child? Then, Modiji, Yogiji have curbed unemployment… ki bhai we will not increase it. Who are increasing unemployment? Those who are giving birth to several children. The government is asking them to stop but they won’t listen. If you have to end unemployment, please listen to the government…”
The video, shot in Azamgarh, was uploaded on April 13, 2024. At the beginning of the video, the interviewer mentions that Yadav is visiting villages to meet people. A clip of Yadav singing with a crowd of supporters, wearing the same attire, can also be seen at the beginning of the aforementioned YouTube video.
The unemployment-related remarks by the MP are also available as a YouTube short on the same channel.
We contacted Santosh Kushwaha, the person who runs the YouTube channel and who recorded the 11-minute interview. He informed us that some part of the interview had been clipped out and was being circulated. He refuted the claims that the viral video was a deepfake. For further verification, Santosh sent us a screen recording of the video which included its metadata.
Hence, it is clear that Azamgarh MP Dinesh Lal Yadav indeed stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath had ‘done their bit’ to curb employment by not giving birth to children. The video is not a deepfake. Several BJP leaders including Yadav himself and BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya have falsely claimed that the video was ‘fake’.
Media Outlets Called the Clip ‘Deepfake’ Based on Malviya’s Tweet
Several media outlets reported on the matter based on Amit Malviya’s tweet where he falsely called the video fake. Zee Media outlet Wion published a report headlined “BJP accuses Congress of deploying ‘deepfake’ to influence voters”. News 18 UP Uttarakhand uploaded a report on their YouTube channel with the headline “Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua का वीडियो हुआ वायरल, BJP ने बताई इसकी सच्चाई। Deep Fake। BJP। Congress”. Other outlets which ran similar reports included News 18 Hindi and Hindustan.
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